By Nuts have a huge nutritional profile that you may not be aware of.
I am a huge fan of eating nuts daily. Nuts provide me with so many vitamins and minerals, plus they take the edge off my hunger pangs, which are known to plague me until I get to eat my delicious vegan lunch. They are a rich source of bioactive macronutrients that positively benefit metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes. In addition, nuts help you reach your protein quota for the day if you are a vegan like I am. Not all nuts are created equal, though; some have more potential than others. There is one particular that I would like to discuss here for its potential pre-biotic value that goes hand in hand with creating an excellent environment for feeding healthy gut bacteria. A study funded by the Almond Board of California wanted to uncover the hidden potential of a bit of the nut almond. After the study results were collated and then published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, it revealed that finely ground almonds significantly increased the levels of specific gut bacteria. The effect was not seen when the almond preparation removed the fat content, suggesting that the beneficial bacteria used the almond fat for growth. This is how the pre-biotic element of eating almonds takes place. Previous studies showed that the fat amount necessary to attain a pre-biotic effect was unavailable if the almond was not processed. By this statement, you are chewing or grinding it down to activate the fat by that form of processing. The time the almond fat spends in your gut depends on the amount of that protein available. That could signify chewing the almond to a fine grind or using almonds in recipes. However, the study does not specify what that means. Although, human studies are needed to get to the finer details.
How can you incorporate almonds into your diet?
Here are a few ideas to get you going when it comes to adding almonds into your diet: One: Use them in a trail mix — an easy take with you to work or school snack Two: Grind them and make your nutty granola — get the most out of the pre-biotic effect by grinding the nut yourself. Three: Grind them and make your protein-rich almond balls Four: Add slithers into your healthy raw salads — this will help make the salad much more filling and protein-rich. Five: Nut butter — I find that my blender doesn’t survive the overheating and power needed to make nut butter — so I do buy mine at a local grocer that makes it fresh for me Six: Make your nut milk — You can do this yourself and use the leftover nuts in baked or raw treats. Or, if you are pressed for time, get unsweetened almond milk from your local health-food store. There are so many ways to begin incorporating almonds into your diet. Activated almonds are great for anyone like me that suffers from a sensitive gut. They are easier to digest and don’t cause discomfort like non-soaked nuts. I would encourage you to make them, but it is time-consuming, and sometimes the final product isn’t as crispy as you’d like. Therefore, I’d recommend you buy them in small amounts as they are relatively expensive!
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